Newsletters - December 2014

March 03, 2015

Centre for Science and Environment

RENEWABLE ENERGY NEWSLETTERDECEMBER, 2014

Dear Reader,

Among all the renewable sources of energy, 2014 proved to be beneficial for solar energy sector. Piyush Goyal, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, announced the target of 100 GW for solar power by 2022. Ambitious targets are a good sign for development of renewable energy. However rapid addition of renewable energy without proper foresights can lead to both technical and financial issues. Renewable power from wind and solar are intermittent and they need smarter grid management. There was also target floated that there would be 24x7 power for all by 2019, but can this target would be achieved through sheer feeding more power into the existing grid? The renewable energy team looked into issues like these and many more in the last few months.

Global Renewable Energy Support Programme

CSE and What Next Forum released the paper – ‘Global Renewable Energy Support Programme’ at CoP 20 in Lima, Peru. The discussion paper intends to create a globally funded payment guarantees/feed-in tariffs mechanism for electricity access through renewable sources. The paper offers a real political direction that can implement grand solutions to build locally appropriate solutions for power generation. It provides a conversation beyond the currently locked in, distrustful and non-imaginary impasse of the climate negotiations and much of international debates. The paper is available here.

India's energy prospects: Who gained how much in 2014? Though the Modi government has been enthusiastically promoting renewable energy, not much has been talked about reducing the share of fossil fuels in the country's energy consumption

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced the launch of a new coalition to enhance the uptake of renewable energy around the world. The initiative that was announced at UN climate conference in Lima (CoP 20), aims at reducing the effects of climate change.

The President of India has sanctioned the Scheme for Development of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects in the country. The scheme envisages at least 25 solar parks, each with a minimum capacity of 500 MW between 2014 and 2019. The estimated financial support for the scheme—Rs 4,050 crore—was also approved

Power Africa’, an initiative of USAID to increase access to power in Sub-Saharan Africa, saw huge investment commitments in the first ever US Africa Leaders Summit that started Monday, August 4. More than 40 heads of state and government leaders all across Africa joined Barack Obama administration in Washington.

Energy sector could be the new bridge to the relationship between India and Russia—two countries which have decided to complete the construction and commissioning of at least 12 nuclear units in next two decades. The decision was taken during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir V Putin, in New Delhi.

The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced a scheme to develop 25 solar parks across the country. The solar parks are installations of multiple solar photovoltaic modules by different firms at one set location which provides all infrastructural facilities.

Pakistan's new Financial Act 2014 which came into force on July 1 imposed 32.5 per cent tax on solar panel imports. They were previously exempt from the duties because of their importance in combating Pakistan’s energy crisis.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2040. In its recently published report, “World Energy Outlook-2014”, IEA says renewables would have a 33 per cent share in the energy generation mix, making it the world’s leading source of power.

European electricity grids will have to prepare for an almost total solar eclipse over northern Europe in March 2015, considering their increased dependence on solar power production. Grids will be required to adjust to the changes in power outputs during the eclipse, according to French power grid operator RTE.

Google's latest venture in the field of renewable energy is a flying wind turbine or an ‘energy kite’. The project is being run by Makani Power, a US-based wind energy company which Google acquired last year

The government of Rajasthan has released a new solar policy, aimed at developing 25,000 MW of solar energy to attain self sufficiency. Rajasthan Solar Policy 2014 would act as an extension to Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) and Rajasthan Solar Energy Policy, 2011 and will remain in force until dismantled.

As sub-Saharan Africa’s economy grows, lack of energy infrastructure in the region is hampering rapid social and economic development, says a report of the International Energy Agency, an autonomous intergovernmental organisation based in Paris.The report—Africa Energy Outlook 2014—showcases sub-Saharan energy sector and its prospects for growth in the global context.

Countries prefer wind and solar over nuclear energy for producing electricity.A recent analysis has found that solar and wind energy’s share in global power production is steadily at the expense of nuclear power.

Two reports, issued by the International Energy Agency (IEA), show how solar photovoltaic (PV) systems could generate up to 16 per cent of the world’s electricity by 2050 while solar thermal electricity (STE) from concentrating solar power (CSP) plants could provide an additional 11 per cent.

Solar PV projects totaling 12 giga-watts (GW) are in different stages of planning in West Asia and Africa, according to a report of NPD Solarbuzz, a market research and consulting services company that tracks all solar power-related activity in the region. The report was assimilation of information from the database of the company’s Middle East and Africa Deal Tracker - Solar Project Database.

Renewable Energy unit Centre for Science & Environment New Delhi

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